Jamaat-e-Islami

Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Islamist organisations, and was the first to develop an ideology based on the modern revolutionary conception of Islam. Its founding branch in Pakistan is the nation's largest fundamentalist party.

Jamaat-e-Islami was founded to spread Islamic values across the Indian subcontinent and advocate for an Islamic political system. It was formed on 26 August 1941 in Lahore under the leadership of Maududi, who believed that contemporary political ideologies resulted from Western imperialism, and that it was necessary to implement Sharia law to preserve Muslim culture. Maududi believed politics was "an integral, inseparable part of the Islamic faith," and that Islamic ideology and non-Islamic ideologies (such as capitalism and socialism, liberalism or secularism) were mutually exclusive. He saw the creation of an Islamic state as both act of piety, and a cure for social and economic problems faced by Muslims, which he attributed to Western influence.

Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan and actively worked to prevent it. After the partition of India, the organisation spearheaded the movement to transform Pakistan from a Muslim homeland into an Islamic state. Madudi's efforts focused on transforming to a "theo-democracy" based on the Sharia which would enforce things like abolition of interest-bearing banks, sexual separation, veiling of women, hadud penalties for theft, adultery, and other crimes. Jamaat seeks to spur an Islamic revival, implementing Islam as a universal religion.

Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir movement is banned in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, while the movement in Bangladesh has faced bans historically, most recently in 2024, although the decision was later reversed by the interim government. Since 2003, the organization is designated as terrorist by Russia.